crape myrtle

[Wishy13764]

I have this wonderful crape myrtle now for almost 15 years. it is hardy and can get as tall as 20', but I keep it down to a mere 10-12'. It makes pruning a lot easier. It has given 'birth' to about 5 small plants around its perimeter. i dug them up this past early spring and put them into containers...had no idea if they would grow...well they are growing and now I got a delimna..How can I contain these 1 and 1/2' feet plants in 12" inch containers? Obviously, the fact that they can grow to a max of 20', would probably kill them..I suspect. I cannot grow them in my small yard..the one I have now takes up as much room as needed. I would love to keep cutting them and hope that I could maintain a 5 or

6' level. Does anyone know if this is possible? BTW, I live in Zone 6 ( NY ) area.

[Frogleg]

You can probably keep Crape Myrtles any size you please with sufficient pruning. Your 'mother' tree will continue to 'give birth' to suckers, as will her children. Crape Myrtles survive all kinds of pruning, including the form of pollarding known around here as Crape Murder (it just *looks* deadly -- the plants survive).